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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Vatican City, 23 January 2014 (VIS) –
“Communication at the service of an authentic culture of encounter”
is the title of Pope Francis' message for the 48th World Day of
Social Communications, the only world day established by Vatican
Council II (Inter Mirifica, 1963), which is celebrated on the Sunday
before the feast of Pentecost (which falls on 1 June 2014). The
message is dated 24 January, memorial of St. Francis of Sales, patron
saint of communicators. The full text of the message is published
below:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Today we are living in a world which
is growing ever 'smaller' and where, as a result, it would seem to be
easier for all of us to be neighbours. Developments in travel and
communications technology are bringing us closer together and making
us more connected, even as globalization makes us increasingly
interdependent. Nonetheless, divisions, which are sometimes quite
deep, continue to exist within our human family. On the global level
we see a scandalous gap between the opulence of the wealthy and the
utter destitution of the poor. Often we need only walk the streets of
a city to see the contrast between people living on the street and
the brilliant lights of the store windows. We have become so
accustomed to these things that they no longer unsettle us. Our world
suffers from many forms of exclusion, marginalization and poverty, to
say nothing of conflicts born of a combination of economic,
political, ideological, and, sadly, even religious motives.

“In a world like this, media can help
us to feel closer to one another, creating a sense of the unity of
the human family which can in turn inspire solidarity and serious
efforts to ensure a more dignified life for all. Good communication
helps us to grow closer, to know one another better, and ultimately,
to grow in unity. The walls which divide us can be broken down only
if we are prepared to listen and learn from one another. We need to
resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow
in understanding and mutual respect. A culture of encounter demands
that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive. Media can
help us greatly in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of
human communication have made unprecedented advances. The internet,
in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and
solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.

“This is not to say that certain
problems do not exist. The speed with which information is
communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgement, and
this does not make for more balanced and proper forms of
self-expression. The variety of opinions being aired can be seen as
helpful, but it also enables people to barricade themselves behind
sources of information which only confirm their own wishes and ideas,
or political and economic interests. The world of communications can
help us either to expand our knowledge or to lose our bearings. The
desire for digital connectivity can have the effect of isolating us
from our neighbours, from those closest to us. We should not overlook
the fact that those who for whatever reason lack access to social
media run the risk of being left behind.

“While these drawbacks are real, they
do not justify rejecting social media; rather, they remind us that
communication is ultimately a human rather than technological
achievement. What is it, then, that helps us, in the digital
environment, to grow in humanity and mutual understanding? We need,
for example, to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm.
This calls for time and the ability to be silent and to listen. We
need also to be patient if we want to understand those who are
different from us. People only express themselves fully when they are
not merely tolerated, but know that they are truly accepted. If we
are genuinely attentive in listening to others, we will learn to look
at the world with different eyes and come to appreciate the richness
of human experience as manifested in different cultures and
traditions. We will also learn to appreciate more fully the important
values inspired by Christianity, such as the vision of the human
person, the nature of marriage and the family, the proper distinction
between the religious and political spheres, the principles of
solidarity and subsidiarity, and many others.

“How, then, can communication be at
the service of an authentic culture of encounter? What does it mean
for us, as disciples of the Lord, to encounter others in the light of
the Gospel? In spite of our own limitations and sinfulness, how do we
draw truly close to one another? These questions are summed up in
what a scribe – a communicator – once asked Jesus: 'And who is my
neighbour?' (Lk 10:29). This question can help us to see
communication in terms of 'neighbourliness'. We might paraphrase the
question in this way: How can we be 'neighbourly' in our use of the
communications media and in the new environment created by digital
technology? I find an answer in the parable of the Good Samaritan,
which is also a parable about communication. Those who communicate,
in effect, become neighbours. The Good Samaritan not only draws
nearer to the man he finds half dead on the side of the road; he
takes responsibility for him. Jesus shifts our understanding: it is
not just about seeing the other as someone like myself, but of the
ability to make myself like the other. Communication is really about
realizing that we are all human beings, children of God. I like
seeing this power of communication as 'neighbourliness'.

“Whenever communication is primarily
aimed at promoting consumption or manipulating others, we are dealing
with a form of violent aggression like that suffered by the man in
the parable, who was beaten by robbers and left abandoned on the
road. The Levite and the priest do not regard him as a neighbour, but
as a stranger to be kept at a distance. In those days, it was rules
of ritual purity which conditioned their response. Nowadays there is
a danger that certain media so condition our responses that we fail
to see our real neighbour.

“It is not enough to be passers-by on
the digital highways, simply 'connected'; connections need to grow
into true encounters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves.
We need to love and to be loved. We need tenderness. Media strategies
do not ensure beauty, goodness and truth in communication. The world
of media also has to be concerned with humanity, it too is called to
show tenderness. he digital world can be an environment rich in
humanity; a network not of wires but of people. The impartiality of
media is merely an appearance; only those who go out of themselves in
their communication can become a true point of reference for others.
Personal engagement is the basis of the trustworthiness of a
communicator. Christian witness, thanks to the internet, can thereby
reach the peripheries of human existence.

“As I have frequently observed, if a
choice has to be made between a bruised Church which goes out to the
streets and a Church suffering from self-absorption, I certainly
prefer the first. Those 'streets' are the world where people live and
where they can be reached, both effectively and affectively. The
digital highway is one of them, a street teeming with people who are
often hurting, men and women looking for salvation or hope. By means
of the internet, the Christian message can reach 'to the ends of the
earth' (Acts 1:8). Keeping the doors of our churches open also means
keeping them open in the digital environment so that people, whatever
their situation in life, can enter, and so that the Gospel can go out
to reach everyone. We are called to show that the Church is the home
of all. Are we capable of communicating the image of such a Church?
Communication is a means of expressing the missionary vocation of the
entire Church; today the social networks are one way to experience
this call to discover the beauty of faith, the beauty of encountering
Christ. In the area of communications too, we need a Church capable
of bringing warmth and of stirring hearts.

“Effective Christian witness is not
about bombarding people with religious messages, but about our
willingness to be available to others 'by patiently and respectfully
engaging their questions and their doubts as they advance in their
search for the truth and the meaning of human existence' (BENEDICT
XVI, Message for the 47th World Communications Day, 2013). We need
but recall the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. We have
to be able to dialogue with the men and women of today, to understand
their expectations, doubts and hopes, and to bring them the Gospel,
Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate, who died and rose to free us
from sin and death. We are challenged to be people of depth,
attentive to what is happening around us and spiritually alert. To
dialogue means to believe that the 'other' has something worthwhile
to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective.
Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and
traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or absolute.

“May the image of the Good Samaritan
who tended to the wounds of the injured man by pouring oil and wine
over them be our inspiration. Let our communication be a balm which
relieves pain and a fine wine which gladdens hearts. May the light we
bring to others not be the result of cosmetics or special effects,
but rather of our being loving and merciful 'neighbours' to those
wounded and left on the side of the road. Let us boldly become
citizens of the digital world. The Church needs to be concerned for,
and present in, the world of communication, in order to dialogue with
people today and to help them encounter Christ. She needs to be a
Church at the side of others, capable of accompanying everyone along
the way. The revolution taking place in communications media and in
information technologies represents a great and thrilling challenge;
may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as
we seek to share with others the beauty of God.”